MARINE TOILETS

[Clive]

Help and guidance required please.

With plans progressing for the sale of the house our thoughts turn to what mansion on wheels we will treat ourselves to after downsizing the fixed domain, and what equipment to have inside the new van.

Its definately going to be BIGGER but very unlikely to be a yank.

Niesman Flair 8000 on 6 tonne Iveco , Concorde, Euramobile on 7.5 tonne Merc etc. I am buggered if Brown is going to get his hands on any of our cash when we pop our clogs!

Marine toilets seem more robust that the plastic Thetfords and very few manufacturers today seem to use the Thetford bench (which I prefer) prefering the versatility of the swivel loo with a much smaller waste tank.

But how about emptying the 100 litres or so of BLACK WATER as they call it? Just how easy is it to find places in the UK and France to do this? We have the European map but .....

 

Does one put BLACK and GREY water down the same grille in the middle of the concrete pad its mounted in etc?.

 

If someone who does this task regularly can talk us through the motions ..(pun intended)

 

Any experiences and viewpoints appreciated.

 

Ta

 

Clive

 

[enodreven]

Hi,

 

I can't comment about using a marine type toilet in a motorhome and from that I assume you mean that you want to store a larger amount of toilet waste than would be contained in an elson unit, as some marine toilets actually discharge directly into the sea and i don't think anyone would be to pleased about that LoL . However, from all of our investigations before fitting out our narrow boat we decided on the elson type unit rather than on the marine type (in narrow-boats they are called pump-out toilets)

 

The main reasoning behind this was that if it was your own boat/motorhome you would most probabably use it for longer periods than say a hire boat/motorhome which would normally be emptied as soon as it returned to base ?? if you follow my logic ? and also the other problem was if the on-board tank gets filled up and you don't have a emptying point nearby you are in deep ???? where as if its an elson unit you can always empty down a public toilet or as a last resort dig a hole and bury it.

 

As for combined black and grey emptying points on the motorhome service points. At some sites in France you could empty both and at others the drain was only for grey and there was a sanitation point nearby

 

Hope that makes sense and helps

[crinklystarfish]

Hi Clive,

 

I too went the elsan route on my boat because of the grief involved in pumping out. It's amazing how frequently you'll need to empty even a large holding tank, and believe me it's no fun to approach capacity and be unable to ditch it! And there's the extra unbaffled weight to play havoc with your handling.

 

Tread carefully, or you may have to tread carefully!

 

If I were in the luxurious position of contemplating such beauties (no Carthago on your shortlist?), I'd still go for an cassette, but might carry a spare waste cartridge if extra capacity was deemed important.

 

Good luck.

 

 

[John Keats]

Two cassets now thats a good idea, I've not thought of that one, it would be easy to store for a day, its sealed and assuming it has the correct detergent in, no problem.

 

Can't help with the Marine side. Good on you spending the money, get the best and biggest outfit you can

[Frankkia]

Our first 'van had a marine loo. Yes it holds more than a cassette but eventually you have to empty it. Luckily whilst we had that 'van a journeys were only in the UK and we managed to dump either at Caravan Club sites or when we got home as there is a manhole cover in the drive. Many other places / countries are a bit short on facilities for marine loos and unless you have a macerator with pump you could find yourself with red faces.

 

The "new" cassettes fir the swivel loos are aprox 17 ltrs as opposed to the 20 ltrs found under the bench style. Not such a big difference really.

 

Why not consider a Frankia - they come with 2 cassettes as standard with a dedicated storage place for the spare. We have looked at all of the models you mention and always come back to the Frankia - Why? - 1) Build quality 2) They have the payload AND somewhere to put it (look at the outside lockers on some of the competition!)

 

When you have decided on which loo you want why not consider a SOG at the same time. It will make your convenience even more convenient! (lol)

[Don Madge]

Clive,

 

We can discuss Marine toilets at Lincoln, I can put you off them for life.

 

We've had two in 38 years of caravanning/motorhoming never again.

 

Don

[Clive]

OK OK OK I get the message!!

 

Forget the Marine type pump out look. Janet was right!

 

Twin cassettes it will be. But why not two complete loos, his and hers? (Joke)

 

We have looked at several big vans including the Cathargo but certainly not all. I guess if we are spending this much dosh we could specify the the bench type in some models. Frankie probably. The Van after this will most probably be a downsize so this will be the last biggun.

 

Yes Frankia has been mentioned before for quality and flexibility and I sent them an email via their web site 3 weeks back to which I have not recieved any reply - dissapointing. Does anybody have some alternative contact details for them?.

 

We bumped into a bloke with a big 7.5 tonne EuraMobile in Carcosonne at Camping La Cite early this week. It was about the same price as the big Flair we have looked at but had over 2 tonne of residual capacity and the Merc 3 litre "big block" engine. I still prefer Merc to Iveco.

 

I want a BIG garage to take two small motorcycles, tools, tables, chairs etc. I also want a 12 volt power regime that is supportable using solar panels.

 

Janet wants more sociable space and to be able to get out of bed without climbing over me.

 

Lots to look at then.

 

Thanks to you all.

 

Don, see you at Lincoln certainly and anybody else who pokes their nose round the corner is welcome.

 

Clive

 

 

[Brian Kirby]

Clive

A couple you might want to look at, both French, are Le Voyager and Esterel.  In both cases what has impressed me is the quality, and detailed design, of the bodywork.  Interiors seem generally on a par with the best.  Doubt you'll get much joy from either by e-mail, though, the French don't generally "get it" yet!  However, I still think they may be worth a look.

Re the bog, don't Fiamma, or someone, do a second cassette carrier, designed to fit under the van somewhere, so that the full one can safely be carried while the spare is on duty?  Just make sure it's well fixed though; otherwise it's too awful to contemplate!!

[Tony Jones]

Clive - 2007-06-14 8:40 AM

 

But why not two complete loos, his and hers? (Joke)

 

It certainly is.

When was the last time you saw a "her" doing the emptying? :-D (other than all female groups & solo travellers of course - well done to them!)

 

(Should I leave the country now instead of waiting for the hols?) :-(

 

Tony

[Clive]

Interestingly I saw a "her" on "captain of the heads" duty at a recent show. Newbury I believe. On the other hand the emptying points for cassettes at the La Cite camp site at Carcasonne are all inside the gents toilets. Very good, they have their own cubicle with convieniently positioned short hose and tap etc. But woe betide any women who venture in there!

 

 

Brian,

The Le Voyager and Esterell motorhomes don,t have the garage size or capacity we require by a long way. Our Scout was a downsize for us, previously it was a 7.5 tonne home build on a Bedford Duple Vista coach base.

The best kitchen we saw was actually the new Autotrail A class. But no garage.

 

Hope you are all comming to Lincoln.

 

C.

 

[Brian Kirby]

Ah well, t'was just a thought!

Afraid Lincoln is definately out, but may have a 'van in time for Malvern.  However, I have to say I wasn't much impressed by last year's Western Show!

I'd thought even if the show wasn't up to much, at least I'd get a few cheap drinks and some craic in a marquee - dream on!  Between the prices and the noise levels, and the fact that the nearest pub wasn't near, I ended up quite thirsty and disappointed!

[Frankkia]

I agree Clive the Le Voyager and Esterell both suffer from the French "No payload" problem. (take a look at the spec - ouch!). Both nice looking 'vans though just a pity you can't take more than one spare pair of socks.

 

If you need to get info re availability / specs of Frankias I suggest you give Ian Hilton a ring @ Cranham. 01277 222555. I would leave it to next week though as I understand he is on his hols till then. We have bought 4 Frankias now and the last two were from Cranham. We would deal with them again - and that says a lot! The folks at Frankia are usually very helpfull but there are only a couple of 'em who speak english so maybe your e.mail landed with someone who didn't understand it.

[Clive]

Thanks Bernie.

C.

 

[Mel E]

Clive,

 

We had 'vans with marine loos for 11 years and were very reluctant to move to cassettes. The holding tank loo typically lasted two of us for at least 2 weeks. Many Italian motorhomes are built with marine loos (a cassette version is offered for other countries), and ALL Italian camp sites have drive-over drop points, used for both grey and black water, as, now, do most Caravan Club sites and many others in the UK. In 11 years, we never found emptying a problem. Where no drop point was available, we had an excellent Fiamma wheeled, 40 litre tank, which made emptying a doddle - even if the holding tank had more than 40 litres in it (as it usually would), the Fiamma tank automatically shut off the flow when it was full, so there was no more mess than when emptying a cassette.

 

Since we've moved to cassettes, I've made a holding box for a second cassette which has proved a godsend. For example, we've just come back from a week in Islay where the only camp site does not have cassette emptying facilities.

 

Mel E

====

[Mel E]

Clive,

 

About 3 to 5 years ago, Laika had the perfect answer: their A-Class vehicles were available with holding tank loo and an optional cassette fitting just below the holding tank, so you could empty either via the drop point or using a conventional cassette.

 

Incidentally, The difference in capacity of the Thetford bench and swivel models is not that big in practice, tho' I do like the built-in wheels of the new bench model. However, all constructors I spoke to 2 years ago were saying not to touch it as it was a poor, cheap design - I notice they've all now adopted it.

 

One definitely to avoid is the Dometic vacuum loo. If you want the full story talk to D&S at Lincoln.

 

Mel E

====

[Brian Kirby]

Frankkia - 2007-06-14 9:44 PM I agree Clive the Le Voyager and Esterell both suffer from the French "No payload" problem. (take a look at the spec - ouch!). Both nice looking 'vans though just a pity you can't take more than one spare pair of socks.

Ah, but that is not the whole story!  Both are Mercedes based and are plated to 3,500Kg MAM because most French buyers are so restricted by their Driving Licences.  No "Grandfather rights" in France.  However, if you have the coveted "permis poids lourd" which most of us do, you can have it plated for the full capacity of the chassis.  But, you do need to talk to the companies themselves to find out what can be offered.  Both vans are relatively small volume production, so more or less built to order and, so far as I know, provided you stick to the same base chassis in terms of its dimensions, you can get pretty much any of the currently available engine/loading variants incorporated into your build - at a price of course!

However, Clive is looking for a bus, not a motorhome, so he'll be off with Carthago, or Neismann, or maybe Concorde.  :-)